Box.



Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

C. S. MCMULLIN.

, Box.

APYLCATIOIN FLD DEC- 1| 1916. 1,239,284,

S 4| 11 4144 AM 1 CHARLES s. MCMULLIE, or WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. c f

' Box.

Application filed December 11, 1916.

To all whom t may concern: 5

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. MGM LIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vorcester, in the county of Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to receptacles and particularly to boxes which are used for candy and other articles.

The main object of myinvention is the provision of a box so constructed that the cover cannot be detached from the box unless so damaged or defaced that the box cannot be again used, thus preventing unauthorized relling of the box.

A further object is to provide means whereby the cover of the box isso locked to the body of the box that it cannot be detached from the body, and to so construct the top of the box that a ribbon or cord may be used for tearing open the top of the box, the top being so constructed that it will separate in two longitudinal sections upon the ribbon being torn ofi.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a. longitudinal sectional view of a box constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. :2 is a top plan View of the box shown in Fig. 1 with the cover partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. et is an end elevation of the bottom section of the box; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom section of the box together with a fragment of one side wall of the cover.

Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the body of the box which is illustrated as of paper and as rectangular in form. This body is formed with a'bottom 11 which pro- `jects beyond the side wall of the body. This projection of the bottom beyond the side wall is relatively important as will be later seen. Attached to the side wall 12 of the body 10 and preferably at opposite ends of this side wall are the transversely extending members 13 which, if the box is made of cardboard, are also made of cardboard strips Specification bf Letters Patent.

median plane of the box.

serial No. 136,314'.

Patented Sept. 4,1917. v

glued or otherwise caused tofadhere to the walls, and preferably upon the inside faces of the ends, with the transversely extending strips 15 which are attached tothe lower margins of these end walls and are preferably beveled downward, the upper edge of each strip 15 being relatively thick and of course as thick as the lower edge of the strip 13. It will be seen from Fig. 5. that the strip 13 is disposed at the upper edge of the end wall 12 of the bottom of the box while the strip 15 is disposed at the lower margin of the end walls of the top of the box. The strips 13 and 15 when superposed upon one another, as illustrated in Fig. 1 have a depth or width equal to the depth of the box. Now when the cover 14 is disposed upon the body of the box, the strips 15 will engage beneath the strips 13 and the y beyond the end wall of the box body.

In order to permit the contents of the box to be secured, I preferably form the top of the cover section 14 of two sections'ly and 7 17. These sections may be secured to thel side wall of the cover in any suitable man 11er and abut against each other along the Disposed over the dividing line between these two sections 16 and 17 is a ribbon or other flexible element 18, preferably in the form of a tapev or ribbon, the ends of which extend beyond the lid of the box and extending over this ribbon isa sheet of paper or other frangible material designated 19. Either one or bot-h ends of the-ribbon or tape 18 may be exposed. N ow it is obvious that when the tape or ribbon is pulled, the frangible layer 19 will be torn and this permits the two sections 16 and 17 to be bent upward,as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3,.and the contents of the box to be removed. y y

t will be obvious that the construction which I have devised provides a box which must be so damaged by opening that the box cannot be refilled. It is pointed out that with the box constructed as described, it is practically impossible to remove the cover or lid from the body of the box after once f l engaged without destroying the box itself or damaging it. Inward pressure on the ends of the box, or to be more accurate the ends of the lid, will not cause a disengagement between the members 13 and 15 but, on the contrary, will force these members to even greater engagement. If the members 13 and 15 together equal in combined width the height of the wall 12, then the edge of the end wall of the box cover will fit tightly down upon the relatively stiff base 11 and, while it will of course be possible to force an instrument between the base 11 and the lower edge of the side wall of the lid to force inward on the wall 12, yet this will not be feasible as the instrument must be relatively sharp and would tend to injure the box, particularly as the strip 15 is beveled down to a relatively thin edge at its lower end and a sharp instrument wouldy tend to n puncture the wall 12 at its base. It will also be very difficult, without damaging the box,

to Ainsert an instrument between the lower margin and the end wall of the lid to pry the end wallof the lid outward from the end wall of the box body, T his will tend to tear the end wall of the box and so damage the box as to make it useless. Furthermore it will be noted that the relatively thick bottom 11, projecting as it does belowthe end walls 12 and the side walls of the body of the box, will resist inward movement of these side walls under pressure which might tend to disengage the members 15 and 13. Preferably the sections 16 and 17 of the lid are operatively hinged to the side walls of the lid by means of the paper strips which connect the sections 16 and 17 to these side walls so that the lid may be readily, opened when the cover paper 19 has been torn.

It will be seen that my improved box is constructed of two sections having telescopic side walls, each of these sections comprising a web forming either the bottom or the top and side walls extending from the web. It will also be noted that the strips 13 and 15 extend the full width of the box and thus assist in preventing the box from' being laterally compressed to bulge outward the end walls and thus detach the locking strips from engagement with eachother.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A box having a body formed of a bottom and upwardly extending side walls, the bottom extending beyond the side walls and the oppositely disposed side walls of the Copies of this patent may be obtained for body having transversely disposed locking `strips upon their outer faces, said locking strips being attached each over its entire inside face to the corresponding side wall, said locking strips being spaced from the bottom of the body, and a coacting cover having a top and side walls adapted to telescope over the side walls of the. body, the inner faces of the side walls of the cover being provided with transversely extending locking strips, each of said locking strips being attached over its entire inside face to the face of the corresponding side wall, the cover being of such depth as to rest upon the extension of the bottom when the cover is in place, the transversely extending strips of the cover and of the body being of such width as to hold the cover in place against the extension of the bottom, said locking strips upon the cover and the body extending transversely across the entire wall to which the locking strips areapplied to thereby reinforce the side walls of the cover and body. y

2. A box having a body formed with a bottom and upwardly extending side walls, the bottom extending beyond the side walls and the oppositely disposed side walls of the body having transversely disposed locking strips upon their outer faces spaced from the bottom of the body, and a coacting cover having a. top and side walls adapted to telescope over the side walls of the` body, the inner faces of the side walls of the cover being provided with transversely extending strips, the cover being of such depth as to rest upon the extension of the bottom when the cover is in place, the transversely extending strips of the cover and of the body being of such width as to hold the cover in place with its lower margin engaging against the extension of the bottom, the top, of the cover being formed of two longitudinally extending sections, a sheet of frangible material applied to said top and holding the sections in the same plane, and a flexible element disposed beneath said frangible sheet and projecting beyond it whereby the frangible sheet may be torn to permit the sections of the cover to be torn.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afhx my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES S. M GMULLIN.

Witnesses:

FLORA E. MCMULLIN, Gr. E. MURDooI-r.

Washington, D. C. 

